Oxford Commercial Property Consultancy News

In the recent article by Landlord Zone all is revealed about what you need to know when it comes to the conditions of a commercial property lease.

"When leasing a commercial property, it’s important to know where your responsibilities as a landlord lie, and how you can protect your best interests as a landlord.

Some conditions within a lease are obvious – you would expect there to be information about rent and how it is paid. However, there are other areas that can easily trip you up if you sign an agreement that allows a tenant to do something that you would rather they didn’t – like leaving you without any rental income two months into the lease.

Below is an overview of the types of things to be aware of. This is by no means an exhaustive list, but should give you some pointers on the types of issues to carefully consider before signing on the dotted line when leasing out your commercial property.

Conditions in a commercial property lease:

Rent

Setting a rental amount is the easy bit, but make sure that you include when the rent needs to be paid by and how regularly it needs to be paid in your lease. For example, if you would prefer rent to be paid quarterly, you will need to stipulate this, ideally including the day of the month that the rent would need to be paid on or by.

Ways that rent can be paid are also important to outline. If you’re not happy with a cheque, then stipulate that rent must be paid by BACS transfer or another method that you would prefer.

Deposit

This is a popular area of contention for landlords and tenants in relation to both commercial and residential properties. It’s incredibly important to agree on the condition of the property before it is rented out. One of the most effective ways of doing this is to photograph the property and both sign under the photographs to say that they are a good representation of the state of the property before the tenant moves in.

These can then be used as solid evidence of need for repair or redecoration if the property is left in a poorer state or is showing any damage when the tenant leaves. It’s at this point that you will be able to hold back some or all of the deposit that the tenant paid before moving in. Again, this would all need to be clearly stated within the lease’s conditions."